Sec. 54.521. STUDENT CENTER FACILITY FEES; TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY SYSTEM. (a) The board of regents of The Texas A&M University System may levy a regular, fixed student fee on each student enrolled in an educational institution within The Texas A&M University System for the purpose of acquiring, constructing, renovating, operating, maintaining, improving, adding to, replacing, financing, and equipping one or more student center facilities for the institution. The board may set fees in amounts it considers just and necessary but not to exceed $100 per student for each semester for the long session and not to exceed $50 per student for each term of the summer session, or any fractional part of a session. The activities of a student center facility that may be financed in whole or in part by the student center facility fee are limited to those activities in which the entire student body is eligible to participate. The financed activities may not be held outside the territorial limits of any educational institution within The Texas A&M University System.

(b) The comptroller of each institution shall collect the fees levied under Subsection (a) of this section and shall credit the money received from the fees to an account known as the student center facility fee account.

(c) The money collected and placed in the student center facility fee account may be used only for the purposes provided by Subsection (a) of this section. A complete and itemized budget shall be submitted to the board annually and must be accompanied by a full and complete report of all activities conducted during the past year and all expenditures made incident to the activities. The board shall make changes in the budget it considers necessary before approving the budget, and shall then levy the fees in amounts sufficient to meet the approved budget, within the limits fixed by this section.

(d) The decision to levy a student center facility fee and the amount of the initial fee must be approved by a majority vote of those students participating in a general election called for that purpose.

(e) The fee authorized by this section may not be increased from one academic year to the next unless the increase has been approved by a majority vote of the students at the affected institution participating in a general election called for that purpose, except that at Tarleton State University the fee may be increased by not more than 10 percent from one academic year to the next without holding an election. The fee may not exceed the maximum amounts provided by Subsection (a).

(f) The president of each institution in the system shall establish a formal system for soliciting and receiving student comment with respect to matters of construction and operation of a facility or program financed by a fee charged under this section.

Added by Acts 1983, 68th Leg., p. 5008, ch. 899, Sec. 1, eff. June 19, 1983. Renumbered from Education Code Sec. 85.30 and amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 901, Sec. 23, eff. Aug. 31, 1987. Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 281, Sec. 1, eff. Aug. 26, 1991; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 546, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 826, Sec. 1, eff. June 14, 2001.

Amended by:

Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 327 (S.B. 702), Sec. 1, eff. June 17, 2005.

Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 327 (S.B. 702), Sec. 2, eff. June 17, 2005.

Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 1226 (H.B. 1102), Sec. 1, eff. June 18, 2005.